Mommy Brigade

Monday, June 4, 2012

Who are you and what have you done with my children?

This phrase has come into my head a few times this last week. Trying to figure out a good way to discipline for fits, dealing with no naps, and having a baby who slept GREAT for the last 3 months suddenly switch to 3-4 hour stretches...who are these kids? I want mine back. The fact that we are going to Florida in a week is kinda discouraging to my efforts. Their schedules are going to be so thrown off when we go, part of me is like what's the point of trying to fix it now. I can try to keep them on the same schedule....but that'll be tough. Damon has been going to sleep around 11. sometimes later. He just hangs out and talks to himself in his crib forever!!! and his naps are always hard. Today he climbed out of his crib....he hasn't done that in a really long time.
Rafe has hardly been napping lately. Probably because a few minutes after he falls asleep, Damon wakes him up! He's so loud and doesn't understand when I tell him to be quite. He just says "Yeah" then goes on yelling. Rafe is also teething and constipated. So that could have something to do with his weird night time schedule. He used to sleep from 10-7:30ish. It was amazing. Now he goes to bed around 10 and wakes up at 2:30 or 3...not too bad, but from there it turns into every 2 hours. I don't know what to do. I usually swaddle him. when he breaks out, he wakes up. He doesn't take a binky real well so the only way to calm him down at night is to nurse him. I'm worried that he will adjust to eating during the night if I keep doing that. So i need help! What should I do. Is it just a phase? Is it a growth spurt? Ear infection?
And how should I handle Damon's fits? Today I've started Time outs and it's actually been working pretty well. My ped. said to really only stick him in timeout if he does something wrong. that it's ok for him to be upset over certain things and he shouldn't be punished for that. I totally agree with that.....but he just needs to learn not to freak out whenever he hears the word no, or doesn't get his way. I don't really say anything when I put him in timeout. I just say, stay here and throw your fit, when you're done you can come back. It's worked ok, I just didn't know if anyone else had anything else that worked well for their kids.
Here's a little story for you that some of you can probably relate to.
Dan and I went to the mall. We decided that Damon can just walk next to us and that he doesn't need his stroller. He fights it every time and we end up letting him get out and walk next to us. He's really good about it and way better behaved...so we thought.
We walk into Dillards and he spots the escalator right off the bat. So I take him up, then back down, then say let's go find dad.
Que fit.
UGHHHHHH
So there I am. Trying to calm him down. Pick him up and he starts hitting my face. Not hard, but enough that I was about ready to loose my shiz. So I put him down and try to talk to him. Meanwhile everyone is staring at me....probably thinking that i never discipline my spoiled rotten child. so, I just walked away. haha I just walked around the corner and watched him throw him cry with his little hands in his mouth. Then after about 30 seconds I came back and said, you want to go up the stairs? He stops crying immediately. I pick him up and say "too bad!" hahahaha and we found Dan who was pretending he wasn't the dad to that screaming child and he was pretty good the rest of the time we were there. But let me tell you. I hated it. It was so embarrassing. What am I supposed to do when that happens? I would have taken him outside but we just happened to be smack dab in the middle of the store. awesome. anyways! Have a good laugh at my expense! I laugh looking back at it now, but it was so not funny at the time!